#a bit of a creative interpretation I admit

[v-thinks-on]

As I stepped deeper into the dank, horrible chamber, I became aware of a strange, sticky sensation on my face and arms, which clung even as I tried to brush it away.

“There is something peculiar-” Holmes began to say, still bent over the corpse of young Hopkins’s late foe.

A sudden movement caught my eye and I interrupted with a shout of “Holmes!” as I saw a cluster of glittering lights emerging from the dark.

These lights were smaller and more tightly clustered than the strange glowing orbs which entranced us through the study window; they gleamed and glinted like as many little eyes in the lantern light. They were followed closely by an immense, dark shape which seemed to melt out of the very shadows.

An enormous shaggy spider loomed over us, its long legs like deadly spears, and its six little eyes winking lazily with the flickering light.

I stumbled backward and grabbed Holmes by the arm to drag him with me if needs must, as he still crouched beside the corpse.

“It’s impossible,” he murmured, slowly rising to his feet beside me, his eyes like mine transfixed upon the spider. “I wondered if we had been drugged, but…”

“I do not mean to wait and find out now,” I replied, perhaps too sharply, as the spider bristled.

To be continued...

[fishymom-art]

as per @ravenette0 's request, here's a semi-coherent explanation of PV and SM's character in Fix a Beast

(if you want me to write anyone else, tell me haha)

I kind of assumed that their overall character is already easy to interpret BUT it never a bad idea to put it into words. It will be under the cut!!!

Pure Vanilla Cookie He's an extremely caring and compassionate cookie, which Shadow Milk criticised both in the game and here. Of course, he also tries to take everyone else's feelings into account. Basically, he's not only the voice of reason, but also the empath of the group, thinking about other peoples' well-being more, than his own. Was it slightly selfish of him to not take his citizens' opinion into account and jumping right into helping the most dangerous cookies in history of Cookiekind? Yeaaahhh perhaps. But that's sort of his nature - wanting to help everyone without bias. This takes a toll on his mental health. Not only this immense amount of responsibilities for the Beasts, but pressure from other cookies, especially his citizens. All he really wants is for everyone to be happy and watching everything crumble (HA) in front of him, as the world refuses to accept the Beasts, makes him... well, let's say snap. If his kind approach doesn't work, he'll find a different one, which leads to his corruption and a state of delusion. His reasoning for everything is always peace and happiness for everyone, but it doesn't take away his inner selfishness and will to control everything. He also has a very low self-esteem. If he fails at something, he doesn't take it very well. He blames himself even for things he can't really control. TLDR: he's kind, loving, cares about everyone more than himself, but also selfish at times, wants control, and has low self-esteem.

Shadow Milk Cookie Liar liar pants on fire or smth. His character is really all over the place, but as the AU progresses, he changes and opens up. At first he's chaotic and narcissistic, but secretly really cares about those who matter to him (other Beasts and his henchmen). He's annoyed by the fact that he has to stay in Vanilla Kingdom, but it was a choice between boredom and death. He warms up to Pure Vanilla and Gingerbrave with time, stands up for himself when he's criticised for his changes and behaviour, and concentrates a bit more on his relationship with other cookies, because in reality, he's just lonely. He just wants someone to appreciate him and as soon as he gets what he wanted for so long, suddenly he becomes a completely different cookie. At first he doesn't want to admit his new-found softness, but by the end learns to be more open. Still has abandonment issues, still has that chaotic and narcissistic flare to his character, but now it's in kind of... charming way, I guess. Very creative, charismatic, basically everything he used to be, but now he uses it for good. A perfectly chaotic gremlin hahaha

TLDR: he's chaotic, charismatic and narcissistic, but really all he wants is some attention. At first he hates everything, but by the end he becomes more open and loving.

Yeah uh here you go. I highlighted the things that matter the most like it's school hahaha

[draculasfavoritewife]

Tortured

Summary: There are a few small things that Frank wants to make absolutely sure you remember; fortunately for the both of you, you've always been a hands-on learner.

Pairing: Frank Castle x fem!Reader

Warnings: A sexually interpretive psychological study of Frank Castle's personal philosophy on torture; little bit of DIY bondage, sensuality. Frank is kind of a dom if you squint.

I really have no excuse for this one, dear fellow Frank enjoyers. Heard him give his whole torture spiel in episode 3 of Punisher back during my initial binge-watching stint a year ago, and my brain immediately went to some very shall we say creative places. It's not my fault his voice is just so delicious when he explains the messed up stuff hehe.

He's definitely given you his torture lecture before, you just don't think you'd paid such painstakingly close attention those other times. 

When you're the one the key concepts are being applied to, of course, it does make the lesson stick just a bit more vividly. 

"See, everybody always thinks torture is pain." Frank's voice is so low, grating deep in his chest like the thrumming of a powerful engine, that you could swear you feel the vibrations even through his fingertips as he expertly tightens his belt around your wrists with a sharp snap, easily keeping both of your hands high above your head with just one of his own. 

"But I'll keep sayin' it -- that ain't right at all, baby girl. You know how it goes by now, want you to say it for me." 

"Torture is time," you breathe out, wholly transfixed by the way his unwavering attention is pinned to you, how his deep, dark eyes never leave yours for a second, their molten chocolate depths swallowing up your ability to say anything but those three words.

His pretty lips twitch into a crooked smirk, so quickly that you barely catch the movement, before returning to their usual downward angle once more. 

"S'right, Sweetheart. That's all it is. Time can break down almost anyone eventually." 

His free hand starts to caress your body, skilled fingers drawing strategic paths across your torso, and the sensation is delicious, the combination of his light, skimming touch and roughened calluses raising shivers from you in waves. But he will neither stray high enough nor low enough on your body to satisfy the burning hunger that's currently driving you mad, his unworldly self-discipline strictly maintaining a rigid boundary from your ribcage to your hip bones. 

Not an inch above, not an inch below. 

You're a mess. 

"Didn't say you could interrupt me," he grunts when a particularly loud whine of frustration escapes your lips. "You don't behave, you get more torture. That's how this whole thing works." 

You shudder out another breath and try to arch your body into a more advantageous position, but his heavy palm on your stomach immediately flattens you back against the mattress as easily as one might pin down a sheet of paper blown by the wind. 

"Stay," he says firmly, and the tone of his voice only makes you writhe more. 

He waits until you can finally control yourself enough to behave for him again, then continues.

"Know what the single hardest part of a sniper's job is, baby girl?" 

"No," you admit truthfully, heart hammering as he starts up his slow touching once again. 

"It sure ain't pullin' the trigger." He murmurs those words into your cheek, so close you can feel his throat move when he swallows against your shoulder.

"Nah, pullin' the trigger's the easy part. Means everything's finally over." 

"I don't understand, Frank," you pant as he drags himself away from you again, his stubble lightly scraping your neck and chest and sparking a new wave of fire blazing through your veins. 

Those gorgeous lips tilt up to one side again, revealing his teeth in that almost-sly grin that always makes your heartbeat freeze for an instant. 

"It's the waiting, Sweetheart. Just lyin' there, on that rooftop or behind that tree. Not movin' for god knows how long, tryin' to keep your fingers from gettin' twitchy and throwing everything to shit. It's sittin' there, with your eyes burning and your mouth gone dry, just praying for the release of finally touchin' that goddamn trigger." 

He knows exactly what he's saying, can feel your reactions to the picture he paints as his hand hovers just above where you most need his touch, close enough that you can feel his body heat but nothing else.

You're so far gone, you can only plead for mercy with your eyes now, hoping the raw desperation in your gaze will finally sway him. 

Frank merely chuckles, warm and dark, as he returns his featherlight stroking to more innocent, adjacent areas once more, practically feeding off your breathless protests.

"Shit, you're just so damn pretty when you're hungry, Baby." 

[not-wholly-unheroic]

I recently found a copy of the graphic novel version of Straight on Til Morning at my local used bookstore and got a great deal so I wanted to share a few of my likes, dislikes, and general observations. I’d been meaning to write up a proper review of the book for awhile now but have been SUPER behind. Anyway, the graphic novel follows the book pretty closely and I’ll be sharing some images from it, so this WILL CONTAIN SPOILERS for those of you who haven’t read it.

First off, the artwork for the graphic novel is beautiful and some scenes are illustrated in a really creative way. For example, I love the depiction of this particular scene where Wendy is writing her stories and Hook sort of…comes to life off the page.

I also really love that while (most of) the characters are still recognizably Disney’s version…they also look a tad more realistic and have some of the illustrator’s own personal interpretation mixed in.

George Darling is a great example. In the graphic novel he is slimmer than in the film and looks remarkably like J.M. Barrie…which I have to consider was probably intentional.

And then there’s the Lost Boys in their animal costumes…Tootles, Skipper (excuse me, this is Nibs erasure—you can add Skipper but don’t just eliminate Nibs!), Slightly, Cubby, and the Twins.

The pirates, however, are a totally different story. Who the heck are these guys???

Anyway… at least they get Hook’s personality right. I love this bit, in particular, where one of the pirates gets a little rough with Wendy and Hook is having none of it. Also, the idea of Hook capturing Wendy to be a mother to the crew is a nice nod to the book.

One big complaint I do have is that the characters are, on occasion, a little TOO self-aware. Like in this scene where one of the pirates makes a sort of on-the-nose observation about Hook’s feud with Pan.

But I will admit, I did cackle at Hook’s reaction.

He said would you please stop trying to psychoanalyze me and look for symbolism and just let the story be about a boy and a pirate? (Hook, how do you even know who Freud is??)

You may have noticed by now that I haven’t said anything about Peter… That’s because Peter barely features in the story at all and honestly when he does show up, he’s…kinda useless and clueless. Now, admittedly, Wendy is meant to be older in this (around 16) so of course, it’s reasonable to think she might not quite view him the same way she did at 12…but in having her team up with Tink to do all the heavy-lifting of the plot (because, ya know, girlpower and all that), Peter sort of ends up not really doing anything. I’d almost rather have an evil Pan, as annoying as that trope is because at least then he actually does something. In this story, it truly feels like Wendy has just…outgrown Peter altogether. And that hurts.

Speaking of which…ya know what hurts even more for me as a Hook fan? THIS.

This poor man is curled up on the deck in the fetal position, terrified of a crocodile who has been long-dead, crying out for a best friend who never even existed except inside his own mind because he was so alone that he made him up.

O W !! Why would you do this to me, Disney?!

It ends for Hook with the crew deciding to drop him off somewhere with enough gold to pay for his keep and hire a caretaker because he’s so mentally unstable they don’t trust him to live by himself.

I hate to say it, but honestly, watching him die would be less painful. At least that would be over with fairly quickly. This just hurts.

But everyone else lives happily ever after, so it’s okay, right? Right??? 😫😭 (Don’t mind me, I’ll just be over here in the corner, crying over my pirate boy.)

[celticcrossanon]

BRF Reading - 1st of December, 2024

This is speculation only

Cards drawn on the 1st of December, 2024

Question: Are Harry and Meghan divorcing right now?

Interpretation: They are being held together by money problems

Card One: The Devil

This is a card of obsession, addiction, dependency, being trapped in a situation, excess. It can also be a card about lies, as the Devil is the father of lies. It is also the major arcana card for Capricorn.

The energy of this card is of two people who are tied together and who are thoroughly miserable in that situation (no surprises there). The Devil is often used as a card for Meghan by tarot readers, and as it has come out here that tells me that Meghan is the one in charge; she is the boss, the dominant energy in the relationship. Harry is no innocent, but she is the one in charge and making most of the decisions.

There is a strong energy of co-dependency in this card, of coping with the situation by enabling the other person's addictions (drugs and alcohol for Harry, attention and money and fame for Meghan).

The energy of this card says that these two can not stand each other. They literally loathe each other and want to escape from the other person all the time. Life for them together is dark, full of anger and despair, and just awful. Both of them may have 'bits on the side' and one of both of them are almost certainly using drugs and alcohol to cope, It's a toxic and co-dependant relationship where they bring out the worst in each other (again, no surprises there).

With the Devil as the father of lies, their relationship is full of lies - both to themselves and to the other person.

With The Devil representing Capricorn, an earth sign, they may find or have found (in the past) consolation in the things that are of this earth - originally sex,/alcohol/drugs/ego (we're free, no one can tell us what to do) but now it feels more like drugs/alcohol/money and social status, being courted by the rich and famous etc, and as that has dropped off their dissatisfaction with the relationship has grown.

There is an energy of pride here, of refusing to admit that they were wrong to get married, and both of them are looking for someone to ride in and rescue them - not by helping them sort themselves out, but by supplying them with money/attendance at famous events/praise for doing nothing so they can continue their current lifestyle and still get what they want.

It is a thoroughly revolting relationship, and I don't think it will come as a surprise to anyone that this is what their relationship is like at the present time.

Card Two: The Ace of Wands

Aces are yes cards. The Ace of Wands is very sexual, it is a phallic card, and it is a card of passion, new projects, new creative directions, new energy, new enthusiasms.

The energy of this card is that yes, Harry and Meghan would love to be separated and never see each other again, but something is stopping them from taking that step. They are busting at the seams with the desire to be rid of the other person - for good in Harry's part, until she needs him again on Meghan's part.

This card could mean that both of them have new sexual partners, because of the phallic overtones of the card. It also hints that Harry might be happier with a male sexual partner, even though I don't think Harry has admitted that to himself yet. In Meghan's case, if she has a new sexual partner, this card tells me that it is a fling - there is no long term to the relationship, it is just about sex, or that Meghan is putting herself out there but no one is interested - she is seen as someone who will emasculate you and no one wants that.

The message from this card is "Go For It!", i.e. Meghan and Harry should take the plunge and divorce now, but I'm not getting that energy from the cards. Harry may stay away and slither into a divorce while Meghan is not around, but I don't think Meghan is ready to let go just yet (and I do think that is because she hasn't got another man lined up to support her).

Aces can also be children, so this could be the two of them staying together (at least on paper) to avoid questions about how is the father of their alleged children and everything that comes with that question.

Card Three: The King of Pentacles in Reverse

Money problems. This card is screaming at me that Harry and Meghan have serious money problems and that is why they are still together, and neither of them can find someone who is willing to bail them out financially.

The King of Pentacles in Reverse is a card of greed, someone who is wasteful with money (all that excessive Devil card living), who is materialistic, chauvinistic, exploitive, possessive, and a risk taker in certain areas - in others they are very conservative,

Greed is the key word here for me. The energy of this card says to me that Harry and Meghan have spent all their money, they are in serious debt, and they are both looking for someone to come in and carry them off to a life where they have bottomless purses of money to spend and all their problems are taken care of by someone else (in Harry's case I believe he wants his father to do this, or his brother). Neither of them are interested in examining themselves and fixing the problems that caused the debt in the first place; they have no intention of downsizing and living frugally to pay off the debt, they just want the debts to be taken care of by someone else so they can continue on their merry way.

For some reason the money problems require that they stay together, or they think that they have to stay together to stop the debts becoming legal problems, and that is the chain that binds them together and keeps them from separating (for Meghan more than Harry - he could walk away but doesn't want to meet the conditions that have been set by his family?, she is just desperate and clinging on for all she is worth.

Underlying Energy: The Queen of Pentacles in Reverse

We had the King in the main reading, and now we have his wife underneath. If the King as an earth sign man is Harry, then this is Meghan, If the King is the boss in the relationship, then he is Meghan and this card is Harry. This does feel more like Meghan's energy so I am going to take it as her.

Note that both the cards are in reverse, meaning that both Harry and Meghan are showing the worst side of their natures in this relationship.

This is money problems again, specifically for Meghan, ones that Harry either does not know about and/or is not legally liable for the debts. Meghan has serious money problems here. There is also the energy of not wanting to give up her title - she seems to think that she will lose it if she divorces and she is not willing to do that. She's rather live apart and keep her title.

The Queen of Pentacles in reverse is someone who is selfish, materialistic, greedy, a gold digger, insecure, jealous, envious, intolerant, self absorbed- this is definitely Meghan. As the underlying energy, this tells me that she is the obstacle to the marriage ending in divorce. She is hanging onto Harry for her title and to keep a lid on her money troubles. If they are in divorce talks then she may be demanding too much as a divorce settlement, or deliberately being obstructive to make the who process as drawn out and painful as possible. She will use the divorce proceedings to get as much for herself as she possibly can with no concern for anyone else (eg her supposed children). If they are not in divorce talks than Meghan is hanging on as tightly as she can until it is to her advantage to divorce. As always, for Meghan, it is all about her and not a shred of thought or concern for anyone else.

There is a strong energy of envy and jealousy here directed at the royal Queen of Pentacles, Princess Catherine. Meghan wants to beat her and destroy her and she sees staying in the marriage with Harry as a way to do this. Meghan is the antithesis of Princess Catherine, who is the Queen of Pentacles upright, and it destroys Meghan inside to see Princess Catherine living her life and (in Meghan's eyes) having everything that Meghan desires and that Meghan thinks should be hers.

Conclusion:

I'm not getting yes or no answer to my question of whether Harry and Meghan are divorcing right now. What I am getting is a vivid picture of their current relationship. Both of them feel chained together by their current marriage, which is a toxic mess of co-dependency and abusive behaviour. Meghan is the one in charge but Harry is no innocent - she is in change because he would rather sit back and indulge himself than make the effort to take some leadership in the relationship. Both of them are lying to themselves and to the other person - the relationship is riddled with lies. Both of them are turning to drugs/alcohol/press attention/fame etc to cope with being in a relationship with a person they now loathe.

There is a strong push to go and create a new life for themselves, but neither of them are really doing it. Instead they seem to be taking lovers as a way of consoling themselves for their marriage (and possibly to find a new partner - almost definitely for Meghan, not so sure for Harry). There are questions about their alleged children that would be raised in a divorce, especially about the paternity of said children, that make it safer to stay together for now.

The marriage is definitely bringing out and fostering the worst in both of them (King and Queen cards in reverse). There are huge money problems that neither of them want to address, they both seem to be looking for someone to ride in and rescue them by dumping and enormous amount of gold in their laps, enough that all their problems will temporarily vanish until they spend all the gold (and not on paying their debts). Harry is lazy and self indulgent, Meghan is selfish to the core, greedy, and a gold digger, and both of them have money problems that bind them together in that is is better for the problems if they stay together for now (or at least that is what one or both of them think).

Meghan is the one who is causing problems with any divorce and who possibly is deliberately creating issues to draw it out as long as possible. She doesn't want to give up her title - there is a real fear that if they divorce her title goes 'poof' - and there is an obsession with Princess Catherine and with besting her in some way, which Meghan seems to think is easier to do if she is married to Harry.

While Meghan is currently the issue with them separating, and not Harry, I would not be surprised if Harry slithers out of her grasp sometime in the future and the first that Meghan knows about it is when the divorce papers arise - assuming that she doesn't find another man to support her and serves the papers first herself.

[jovata]

Hi to anyone reading this!

I just watched the movie Flow, and I have some theories. (⚠️ SPOILER ALERT ⚠️)

First of all: It's not a movie you understand right away; it requires some reflection afterward. I think this film brings an interesting message.

The movie is slightly anthropomorphic; the animals still behave as they would in real life but with a bit more intelligence. I found this choice very interesting and creative (and I must admit, it made me grow even more attached to the animals because I found it extremely cute).

In the face of adversity—many of which are beyond our control—collaboration is extremely important, turning a terrible situation into something bearable.

We depend on each other to survive, and I believe that’s the film’s main message.

The kitten goes from antisocial to the most cooperative one in the group. Its evolution throughout the adventure is clear and beautiful to watch.

Now, about the mystical part of the movie: that bird scene—I’m not sure I fully understood it.

But after reading some theories (because I was a bit confused), I came to the conclusion that the bird might be some kind of guide for the cat. It helps the cat in various ways until the moment the cat gains control over the situation and makes its own decisions. It decides that the right thing to do is to save the dogs, and at first, the bird—at least from what it seems—gets angry at this decision. But later, as it ascends to the sky, it makes us understand that it has fulfilled its role on Earth. Its mission, apparently, was to protect the cat's life, but once the feline took charge of its own destiny and became capable of surviving on its own, the bird felt that its duty was complete.

Regarding the dogs that were saved, I believe it’s a metaphor for how, even in extreme situations where collaboration is the key to everyone’s prosperity, there will still be those who take advantage and act selfishly, ignoring the common good. Unfortunately, these are challenges we have to deal with in life—on top of the chaos that life already is.

In the end, the movie suggests that the flood will happen again. That whale, which seemed like it was going to die, will now have a chance to survive (and according to the post-credit scenes, it does).

As for the cat, it is now prepared and no longer alone. The final scene, where everyone looks at their reflections, is deeply symbolic and brings back the idea I mentioned at the beginning: their collaboration will be what saves them.

I really liked the movie, and I think I'll watch it again in the future to see if I come up with a different interpretation.

[thetownsendsw]

Today marks the premier of #Pathfinder’s Triumph of the Tusk Adventure Path, so I’d like to take a moment to discuss a relevant topic near and dear to my heart.

ORCS!

While Tolkien was drawing on some linguistic antecedents, Orcs in fantasy originate from The Hobbit & Lord of the Rings, where they’re brutish soldiers of various forces of evil.

Initially lacking redeeming quality, Orcs have become a darling of pop culture, their thuggish nature explored from many angles across TTRPGs, video games, comics, novels, and more.

Now, when you picture an Orc, you no doubt imagine something akin to the Warcraft or Warhammer franchises: statuesque, green skinned humanoids with protruding underbites and looming tusks, often locked into a primitive, itinerant lifestyle, eschewing technology beyond what they pillage from other races.

Interestingly, none of this is in Tolkien.

In Tolkien, “Orc” was essentially another word for “Goblin,” or perhaps unusually large Goblins. Far from statuesque, Gollum (a (former?) Hobbit) could easily be confused for one. The Uruk-hai, a new, stronger Orcish offshoot were described as Orcish in appearance but only as tall as a Man, not taller.

Tolkien’s Orcs are described as deformed, but nothing as specific as green skin or tusks is specifically mentioned (Tolkien saved in-depth sensory detail for trees, and occasionally beards).

Far from being savages, Tolkien’s Orcs were–in his grand Romanticist narrative–stand-ins for industrialization. They were destroying the forests to build grand weapons of war, and soot-covered Mordor evoked the smokestacks of 19th century london.

In many ways the conflict of LotR can be interpreted as Tolkien pitting the noble myths and tales he studied up against his real experiences in WWI.

(the thought amuses me of a firmly medieval fantasy setting, except when we zoom in on the Orcish Badlands they’re all shelling each other from the trenches)

But while none of these traits are in Tolkien, there is a source where they are central.

The Green Martians, or Tharks, first appeared in A Princess of Mars by Edgar Rice Burroughs, published in All-Story Magazine from Feb-July 1912, well before any of the kids Tolkien decided to tell a fairy tale to were born.

The Tharks are described as 15 foot tall nomadic savages, favoring mighty beasts and weapons salvaged from the more civilized races of Barsoom. They have green skin and tusks, as well as six limbs (interestingly, the middle limbs are described as functional as either crude arms or secondary legs, but art always just depicts four arms)

Culturally, the Tharks are clearly meant as extensions of the Apache raiders encountered in the early chapters of the book set in Arizona; i.e. some California ranch-owner’s idea of wasteland savages. Nomadic, inhuman raiders redeemable only when breaching their primitive traditions.

The parallels are almost uncanny, and I’ll admit I’m honestly not sure where the crossover occurs. Early editions of D&D–another driver of fantasy trends–depict orcs as pig-people, which is probably how tusks became so iconic. They later added gray skin, which persisted officially until the current edition.

Somewhere between there in ‘74 and Warhammer in the early 80s is when the pseudo-Barsoom look took over in broader culture, and at this point there’s no getting around it. Even the more recent Tolkien film adaptations can’t entirely escape the expectation of modern Orcishness.

Turning back the clock a bit, Tolkien notably was never entirely sure where Orcs came from. His first idea was that they were molded from clay by Morgoth, a dark mirror to Adam, but being a Catholic at heart, he disliked the idea of Evil being a creative force.

He flip-flopped for the rest of his life, whether Orcs were corrupted men/elves/hobbits, uplifted beasts, even (according to one post I saw) soulless bodies remotely piloted by demons. He could never quite square the need for unfailingly evil mooks with his own feelings on Good & Evil.

Personally, I find particular resonance in the parallel between what D&D used to call an “always chaotic evil” race and the very Catholic concept of Original Sin. Was Tolkien merely dancing around the idea that the Orcs only needed to be Saved?

I can’t say what Tolkien would think of modern Orcs, either their merging with an earlier, American space alien, or our attempts to humanize what was supposed to be fundamentally inhuman. But I think his insecurity speaks to the same source as our fascination.

Who among us hasn’t struggled with what it means to be good? Or to be evil? And if we are made to be evil, what does it mean to strive against that purpose or to surrender to it? Can we abandon the precepts of predestiny? Or do we reject that they were ever there?

Stare deeply into that Jungian shadow and tell me…

Is it green? And do you want it to be?

[avelera]

Let's Play: What's Wrong with this Sculpture?

Following in the theme of sharing astonishing moments of ancient sculpture pedantry here on Tumblr, based on my brief undergraduate stint as a T.A of ancient art history, I thought I'd share one of my other proudest moments of being an absolutely insufferable know-it-all about ancient sculptures.

In the process, I hope I can also share some of the sort of largely useless (from a practical perspective) information that Tumblr tends to glory in, so buckle up buttercups.

This question was posed to me on a walking tour of the Capitoline Museum in my ancient art history class while I was living abroad. Our professor, a delightfully curmudgeonly Belgian, stopped in front and asked us to figure out why this sculpture is just plain wrong.

I intend to walk you through the process of how I got the right answer and, after gaining my teacher's rare approval, glowed with enough serotonin to power a small nuclear reactor.

So, let's return to the original question: what is wrong with this sculpture?

Because if you are truly eagle-eyed you should be able to spot what very famous sculpture this actually is, before an overly imaginative Frenchman brought it back wrong.

Hint #1: It was incorrectly restored.

Look closely at the the difference of the patina, or color of the stone. It's a bit hard to tell in this photo, but the head was added later. It's a paler white than the core of the torso, which is what we have of the original sculpture.

Hint #2: It was incorrectly restored in the 18th century by a Frenchman (Pierre-Étienne Monnot) who made some, shall we say, creative interpretations of what's going on here.

You can tell it's by an 18th c. Frenchman because the facial features are so delicate. Ancient statues tend to have less narrow and delicate chins and noses. In general, that is a dead giveaway when something is 18th century French vs. Ancient Greek or Roman.

Here's a good example. The first sculpture is 18th c. French, the second is the famous Venus de Milo. Note her blockier chin and less delicate features. So in the future, you can tell these sort of later additions to Greek or Roman sculptures if they added a new head because 17-19th century sculptors in Europe had tools (like finer drill tips) and tastes (beauty standards that favored more delicate men and women) that led to a pronounced difference in the faces.

Hint #3: Check out the anatomy of his lower shoulder. That's another addition, that arm should not be coming straight out of a torso where the muscle, if you look closely, is turned inward.

Seriously, that looks painful.

Hint #4: The sword he's holding up is just total nonsense for the Roman era. I mean, the restoration makes no secret of the fact that this sword is a later addition, but it's also just an absolute nonsense sword with its silly little curved cross guard. This Frenchman literally just made it up.

Here's an ancient sculpture with a sword in it that actually looks right:

From the Ludovisi Gaul, a famous Hellenistic Baroque work of Greek sculpture. Note the much blockier sword though I will admit, it could be a later addition, I don't know for 100% certain, but I'm pretty sure it's the original. Regardless, it fits the sculpture much better and let me add that sword I'm criticizing is completely made up for the sculpture we're talking about and is not there in the original sculpture that was incorrectly restored.

Ok, so those are all the hints.

Look closely at the body of the first sculpture. Cut away the arms that are not connected to the body correctly, the sword that shouldn't be there, the face that was far too delicate. When you separate those later additions out, can you tell me what sculpture that actually is?

Because here is the reveal!

The Discus Thrower, aka, the Discobolus by Myron.

The French restorationist got carried away by his own imagination, saw a twisted torso and thought it could only possibly be a warrior in the midst of twisting around to fend off a blow, not an athlete in the midst of a demonstration of skill. It's a martial, fanciful read that completely misinterpreted the subject.

This is why most restoration today employs a much lighter touch, rather than trying to reattach pieces incorrectly, they tend to just outline where the missing pieces are with a light sketch of an educated guess of what might have actually been there. Faulty restorations like the Capitoline Discobolus is one reason for this modern stylistic principle when it comes to restoration work.

When my professor asked us to identify the correct original sculpture that day on the museum tour, it was the sword that pinged me as wrong first, but zeroing in on the core of the sculpture, the torso, is what revealed the true statue underneath.

This notoriously difficult to please professor was very proud when I blurted out, "It's the Discus Thrower!" and the high-octane serotonin I got from his approval probably could have propelled me into the sun that day, and brought to you Yet Another Moment of Ancient Sculpture Pedantry.

[biancasaidstfu]

The lines that WAB share that are cut, some of them I kinda agree that it wasn't necessary for the final cut. What we saw in the final version was ok. I actually think Colin talking to Eloise on the night of engagement would have thrown it off a bit. The Pen and Eloise interaction was better. We also didn't need the Violet and Colin part, the way Ruth acted in that scene was enough to convey how she felt about the engagement. The one scene I wish they kept is Elosie running to Colin when he interrupted Pen and Debling dancing. I think a lot of fans watch shows with the expectation that everything must be spelt out for them, that's not enjoyable at all because it leaves little room for the fun in dissecting a scene for interpretation and understanding the beauty of the story.

I know fans are upset with parts of Colin that were cut but I also think WAB hasn't been showing all of it. I'm sure other lines with other characters were cut as well, Pen included. They probably focus on him since he is half of the love story but what fans fail to remember is season 3 is about 5 main love stories - Pen and Portia, Pen and Colin, Pen and Eloise, Colin and himself, Pen and herself. I'm not saying it wasn't without flaw but the arguments I see have me wondering if I saw the same show. I actually like the brothel scenes with Colin, it showed that he didn't know his ass at all and that was part of the build up to him admitting he was trying to be what society wanted him to be and what Eloise and Pen called him out on.

I also understand the issue with Benedict but that is how they needed to introduce him as the next lead. It was a give away for me with the amount of his story we saw compared to the others, I guessed it would be him who's next. And well they didn't have a choice really to make him next lol. The only toss up is Eloise and Fran. What fans also need to remember is that Colin, Fran, Eloise love stories sort of occurred very close together so it makes sense all of them including Benedict got screen time this season to introduce the next. If we look at the season 1, Anthony and Colin got a lot stories to introduce theirs as next. Season 2 the featheringtons, Pen and Colin had more time because they were next. It's only in lookin at all the seasons (I binged them one after the other) it made sense.

We all have our different opinions on it but I really think some of the discourse is just nonsense talk without really looking at the context of the story and scenes. Also it adapts from the books it isn't the book word for word. The creative direction doesn't have to be everything JQ wrote because if it were, then that would be a whole other discourse and hate towards the season.

Also it is regency era, they have to stick true to some misogynistic and patriarchy concepts such as women being virgins before marriage and not knowing about sex. That's how it was back then. But if they put all of it then nobody would want to watch Bridgerton because times have changed. And for god sake people need to watch shondas other shows to understand why Bridgerton is structured the way it is. The woman is known for successful ensemble shows with complex stories and characters. She does not focus on one thing or couple alone. That's why she's so successful, her MO is diversity, not only in race/ethnicity/nationality but also in story. There's always something for everyone that's why people are drawn to her work.

I understand. We're just being selfish in our love for Colin lol.

[tulipsnflowers]

Introducing.... Children of Omnicron tyrant form redesigns!

I mostly combined n1 and n2 + Just some small changes I like, and I made them more animal I guess.. ? All of them individually, as well as a silly height chart and thoughts below

Just some thoughts here:

Grunda-

Grunda's colors are a bit confusing because they changed his elemtal colors in between, so I made them the same as Metta's

I gave him lil colored spikes to spice it up AND because Nadine has them, I figured it might be cute if that's why Ventra has them,cuz Grunda is Cool. Not that she'd admit it

Ventra-

MORE RAPTOR THANK GOD. She's so weirdly humanoid??? Ross said he should be avian, that is not avian, she is raptor

I know she has golden eyes but like... She's the only one with them? It causes a bit of a color bleeding problem because she has an eye ribbon, but I'm sure it's fine

Fona-

I removed his emo phase. Seriously, why is he the only one without white?

Also Metta's ribbon is red and his glow is red but we made his lava... yellow? Quickly fixed that one-

I gave him that horse blank thingy for spicing up- He's the more horse-like between him and Deena

Nara-

I made her antlers more Deer-like. Because my friend thinks they're ears. So. Antlers.

There, she KINDA has a 3rd flower, only outlined. But it's there. Oh and that under her eye is a scar. Because she has it according to me, because it's something she had in n1 and then not in n2 so I got creative

I also made her paws white to be more hoof-like. Just overall small things I like

Arqua-

WHERE DID HER BACK FINS GO IN N2?????? She lost her legs. The heck-

Other than that they changed her colors quite a bit, even if not noticeably, otherwise I combined the 2 designs to the best of my ability

OH and Metta's ribbon is so diluted for her. The heck, her water is so much brighter-

Luxa-

So originally I made him bigger. I realized Metta would be a literal spot on the canvas, so uh, just a touch smaller

I like the n1 one more- again where do fins keep going?? I liked his dragon-esk features!

I used Metta's ribbon colors, but I made the purple just a bit brighter

Metta-

Him and his forms from here, though I haven't thought about them much so up for interpretation

Mostly took ribbon colors and changed them, because they're all very desaturated, if this is his whole gimmick, at least do it right!

Glass ball. Please get a new form in n3

I didn't do Solus because it varies from person to person almost? Like, I certainly don't imagine @/nayvwriter 's Hope and my Ariel (not written yet) to look the same in tyrant form, so it really really depends.

Even small things such as main animal focus can and should change so probably not gonna make one till JV releases n3, at least.

On that note, here's a funny height chart

What are they feeding Luxa?

[zombiigrll]

ok ok, hear me out...

Enid Rhee x Dixon!Reader??

Prompt: "...Why are you quiet?" "That's probably the most I've ever heard you talk."

So basically, where reader (either fem or gn, whatever you want) is Daryl's kid (biological or adoptive) and they're super quiet, similar to their father. Like, only speaks if spoken to. Reader and Enid are close friends and maybe after a dangerous encounter, or something angsty, reader can't keep their feelings to themselves anymore and confesses.

AAAGH i'm gonna leave it at that and give you whatever creativities you want. I literally love all your fics and your style of writing, so I hope you like this request and take it cause I would personally be thrilled to see what you come up with.

──────────────────────────────────────── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆

FATHERS DAUGHTER. ⋆｡°✩ enid rhee x fem!dixon!reader .ᐟ WORD COUNT .ᐟ ⭑ 1.2K ꩜ .ᐟ WARNINGS ⭑ angst + fluff + friends to lovers (mostly fluff IDK WHAT TO CALL IT theres so many fanfic terms my ass is not caught up on!), reader is daryls daughter (you can interpret if its adoptive or not ), reader is quiet/monotoned, near-death situation? kissing, mostly just cute stuff with a tiny bit of angst! .ᐟ SUMMARY .ᐟ ⭑ you admit your feelings out of fear. ꩜ .ᐟ A/N .ᐟ ⭑ okay i LOVE THIS REQUEST ANON!! thank you so much!! enid is so fun to write for and this was just so fun to write AHH!! and thank you so much im so glad you like my writing, hope i did your request justice <3

⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ────────────────────────────────────────

you had been staying up all night reading some book you had found on a run.

it was clear to everyone that you were a night owl. you could stay up days without being super effected by it, but that could also just be what happens after being in an apocalypse for a few years.

or, it could be that you were exactly like your father.

you were as quiet as him, had the same sleep schedule as him, everything.

anywho, you stayed up and saw the sun started rising, and thats when you remembered you and enid had a quick run together a little ways away from alexandria.

you decided to start getting ready a bit early, just to kill some time. you placed your bookmark in the gutter of the book before closing it and standing up.

the only thing differently you did from your father was that you kept all of your clothes as clean as possible. you even did his laundry sometimes. you didn't blame him though, he was a busy man. you were glad you could help in some way.

you picked a blue flannel, rib-knit tank top, and jeans.

just as you finished changing your clothes, you heard a knock at your door.

"come in." you replied monotonously.

enid opened the door, raising her eyebrow with a slight chuckle as she looked at you. "you're already ready?"

"mhm."

"did you even sleep last night?" she walked over to your bed and sat to your side.

"no. i was reading." you looked at her. your expression and voice was always quite flat, but enid never cared. she knew it was just who you are, and she'd never change a thing about you.

"of course." she nodded in response, looking at the book that laid behind the two of you. "you are your fathers daughter."

"what's that supposed to mean?"

"oh, nothing bad." she nudged you in the shoulder. "you're just quiet and a night owl. just like daryl."

"yeah." you put a hand up to your shoulder, acting like it hurt with a slight smile.

"well, are you ready to head out?" enid jumped off the bed and picked her bag back up.

you nodded, standing up with her.

...

you've been driving for a little while now. like i said, the place your guys' run was located was a little ways away from alexandria.

but, you guys made it.

you parked on the side of the road and stepped out, grabbing your bag as well as holstering your gun.

you looked over to your side at enid as she stepped out of the car. you walked a bit further forward, scoping out the area.

"does it look clear so far?" enid sneaks up behind you, her iconic smile still plastered on her face.

"so far. i don't hear anything right now, but we still have quite a bit of area to look over."

she nods, stepping directly to your side. "i'm sure this run will be easy. we've never had much trouble over here." enid continues, her voice almost sounding as if she's trying to comfort you?

you shrug. "mhm."

the two of you walked throughout the forest, no signs of any walkers.

"why'd they have us go out here if theres nothing?" enid looked around, her knife in hand despite her firmly believing she wouldn't need to use it today.

"you're jinxing us."

"you believe in jinxes?" she chuckled, her mouth slightly curving up.

you look away, a bit embarrassed. you shrug your shoulders again in response.

as you step forward, you hear a crack from the woods that you guys had yet to check.

"yes, i do."

you pull your gun out and begin stepping into the woods with enid following behind you.

there was a hill at the edge of the woods with a couple of trees surrounding it. you could barely see where it ended.

you turned around at the sound of groans, and spotted quite a bit of walkers in the distance heading right your way.

but before you could think, the edge of the hill cracked beneath your feet.

"oh shit!" you screamed as you fell. enid instinctively reaches out and grabs your hand. you hit your nose on the hill as you swing down, causing it to bleed.

it was at least a 20 foot drop. you looked down as enid struggled to try and get you up.

"oh f- hold on! it'll be okay." enid tried to comfort despite her freaking out along with you. she moves her other hand to try and pull you up.

"fuck, fuck!" you panicked, the taste of iron entering your mouth as you tried reaching your other arm up to help. you helped her pull yourself up and you fell onto the ground.

"come on! we have to go!"

enid holds your hand, intertwining it with hers, to lift you up. you both begin running through the forest and past the walkers that were starting to surround the two of you, adrenaline rushing throughout both your veins.

you guys arrive back at the car, throwing yourselves into the seats and catching your breath.

without thinking, you start speaking through your breaths.

"oh man, i thought.. i thought i was going to die... i thought i was going to die, and i didn't even tell you how i love you, enid. i really love you, i-i'm sorry."

enids eyes widen, her hands still placed on her chest catching her breath as she stares at you with a reddened face.

after a moment of silence, you speak up again.

"...why are you quiet?"

"that's probably the most i've ever heard you talk."

enids expression changed into a large grin. she leans forward and pulls a rag out of her backpack. "and you didn't even care about the fact that your nose is still bleeding."

you stay sitting there as she cups your cheek, putting the rag up to your face.

she didn't respond to what you said.

did she feel the same? or did you just make a fool out of yourself?

as your nose stops bleeding, she sets it down and looks at you with a smile.

"i love you too, by the way."

before you could react, she leans forward and kisses you.

your body froze as you processed what was happening, but you finally got the courage and moved your hands up to her cheeks as you returned the kiss.

you could feel her smile under the kiss the moment your hands touched her face.

you were sure she could tell how anxious you were. that she could tell that there were butterflies in your stomach and a knot in your chest, despite the kiss being soft and delicate.

she pulled away, her mouth still curved into a smile.

you looked back at her in shock, taking in all of her features before she broke the silence.

"you're extremely red."

you choked on air as her words snapped you back to reality. "oh, shut up."

"i'm serious! you look like a cherry." she giggled, moving your hair behind your ear.

you rolled your eyes, unsuccessfully pushing away a smile. "come on..."

"wanna do it again?" she tilted her head, her hands moving down to your shoulders.

despite what seemed like a protest previously, you nodded vigorously.

she laughed and leaned in once again.

─────────────────── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ────────────────────

[ethotay]

i love the thought being disposed. Ehat do you yhink happened? Or how did he interpret it?

context

i don't think anything specific happened today; scar said in his intro that he had woken up not too long before he began streaming. he also said that he was in a weird mood, after making the 69 joke when asked to choose an uncommon number between 1-100.

grian was also complaining a lot – which is something that has been reiterated by the content creators "as a bit," but his tone was off at times and it was more frequent than the usual "scar incompetency" joke. as i said in the other post's tags, as scar would fly off to gather something for grian to use, he said multiple times to chat that he should have come up with a plan before starting stream, and it almost came off as apologetic? which is weird! that's weird, coming from scar. the way that grian would say something, scar flies off, scar makes a comment about a plan, makes me believe he was taking it a bit more personally than i think he has at other times. i've watched plenty of other scar/grian gameplay vods where grian bitches so much about scar's incompetency, but scar's reaction to it was always to play it off as a joke, not whatever today's response was.

it's weird - all of these tidbits on their own, they should not be enough for scar to suddenly admit an incredibly vulnerable insecurity to tango and his audience. maybe it also has to do with his general executive dysfunction and his stunted creative processes with the zoo? now that i think about it, the undesirable comment wasn't the only self deprecating comment he made on stream today, like when he said a comment along the lines of, "i'm bad at minecraft now, but you should've seen me in season 4." not saying he improved, but just reinforcing that he was terrible then and still bad now.

it could just be a culmination of general health issues, loneliness, and a slip of the tongue that allowed him to be so honest on stream.

i'm gonna continue but it is gonna be more paraosocial and just spitballing rather than anything serious

undesirable is such a specific term. undesirable. he makes light of how alone he is, has mentioned how lonely his life was before youtube and the hc community. i wonder if seeing everyone in person at the charity event made him envious of their partners, the people who came with their significant others.

maybe something did happen where scar confessed feelings for someone, only to be rejected. maybe he's mourning a life that he won't have, mourning the simplicity of an abled body. maybe it's been a bad week.

side note: it's interesting how bitchy grian was today when gem has been completely offline for the weekend for her birthday. a coincidence, i'm sure, but hey 🤷

maybe scar misses gem! lol

i don't know, anon. i do have many thoughts ruminating about it, but i'm not too sure if these are even that coherent of a response lmao

[knaveumineko]

Umineko Episode 2 Blog: A Study in Scarlet

The rules have changed.

As of Episode 2, we've been introduced to a new tool for solving the murders: Red Truth. Naturally, it's a double-edged sword, eliminating much of the ambiguity we might have used to worm our way out of admitting magic exists, while also providing information we can use to narrow down what did happen.

They aren't as fair as Beatrice would have us think, of course. Her "you are incompetent" line already reveals that Red Truths are subjective: they're only true to the extent that Beatrice believes they are true, or at least, to the extent that she can come up with a reasonable interpretation of what she's saying that is true. This is not to say they're completely useless. The game strongly implies that Beatrice is basically omniscient with respect to events on Rokkenjima, so she can't really "subjectivity" her way out of concrete statements of fact, although she can probably get creative with her wording, so I'll have to watch out for that.

We also have to contend with the fact that Beatrice is perfectly allowed to lie as long as it's in white. In particular, she likes to make a statement in red and "clarify" it in white.

It's hard to say whether she's telling the truth about this, especially since I still don't understand what the Golden Land even is, but it's another angle she has for misdirection.

I also noticed that she really likes to specify "humans" rather than people in her Red Truths. Of course, she has to do this because she wants to leave open the possibility that there are witches around that aren't being covered by her statements, but it could also tie in to the alter ego theme that Episode 2 has going on. It's a bit of a stretch, but I have a theory regarding that which I'll get into in the post discussing all the magic stuff.

She can misdirect further by withholding truths. A statement being in red might prove something is true, but refusing to say it in red does not mean that it's false. Another Devil's proof. Battler might even be wrong about some of the tricks involved in the locked rooms, although he probably got the chapel one right, since I can't see Beatrice conceding unless she has to.

Red Truths are only one rule in Beatrice's game, and since this is our second go around we ought to try and reverse engineer some of those rules by comparing this episode to the last.

Beatrice likes to describe the people on Rokkenjima as "pieces" and if they're anything like chess pieces then they each have specific roles they fill, and different kinds of moves that they're allowed to make. A couple of these roles stand out pretty well.

The Watson: A first person narrator, invested in solving the mystery, whose thoughts on the case we're allowed to follow, and whose version of events can generally be trusted. So far, this is always Battler.

The Queen: the surviving Ushiromiya wife, who takes Kinzo's gun and uses it to take charge of the group. Insofar as the 3rd person narrator is trying to frame the story as a Slasher movie, the Queen is the final girl, although it seems they don't quite manage to overcome the killer in their big confrontation. It was Natsuhi last time, and then Rosa.

The Sheppard: A third person narrator, who believes in magic and tries to frame the story through the lens of a supernatural horror. Presumably has to survive until the end, or else I'm not sure how they could narrate events. It was Maria last time, and probably Sayo this time.

Certain arrangements remain constant. George and Shannon are always about to get engaged, Kinzo always locks himself away, the first case involves killing off the squabbling siblings and their partners. In fact, Beatrice's statement that the starting arrangements are more or less the same between episodes means that we have some additional information for trying to solve that mystery, too.

Shannon says that Beatrice's magic is the only reason her relationship with George is possible at all, which means she probably desecrated the shrine the same way last time. I also think my speculation that the siblings begin the killings by turning on eachother still has legs (I completely forgot until the reread that Rosa is shown in the chapel with the rest of the siblings). The final scene where Battler is escorted to Kinzo's study proves definitively that Genji is in on the witch conspiracy in all episodes, if we needed any proof of that. Unfortunately, the ending also pretty much confirms that Kinzo is alive, so I think my earlier theory about him being dead the whole time has been contradicted.

I have to wonder what Lambdadelta was really getting at when she said that Beatrice is an opponent who doesn't always make the best move. To some extent we already knew this. She selects her victims according to the Demons' Roulette, leaving it up to fate instead of picking off the most dangerous or most intelligent right away. She refuses to use Red Truth to end the game on the spot by confirming magic is real (of course, she probably can't do that since magic isn't real, but the trick is that even if it was it would still be out of character for her to say so). I do have to wonder if there's more to it than that. It's definitely weird that the culprit in this case has found Kinzo's gold, meaning they solved the epitaph, but they're still trying to get other people to try and solve it even though it's unclear how they could possibly benefit from this.

Umineko is an interesting experiment in interactive storytelling in that it is not, in any way, interactive, but it's still undeniably a game with a set win condition and rules that restrict your actions. Your goal is to defeat Beatrice by finding an interpretation of the text that denies magic, explains the bizarre events of the story, and does not invoke any bad-faith readings, like suggesting the whole thing is just a dream. Umineko absolutely begs for you to engage actively with the text and in doing so it feels like a very distinct experience to reading an ordinary book. Even others in the mystery genre do not frame the existence of the mystery as an explicit antagonistic force.

I'm starting to see why people liked the Ground Rules post. Umineko really does want you to metagame the hell out of it, and now we have so many new tools for doing so.

[musicfeedsmysoul12]

Can you explain your thoughts on the Aizawa critical stuff? Why you agree?

Another disclaimer: No teacher in any anime is a good one really and as such I tend to have always over looked that because of the fact that if any teacher was a good one the kids wouldn’t get involved in half the bullshit they do.

That being said: Aizawa in canon is a shit teacher more fond of fucking with his students and scaring them then teaching. He suffers heavily from being the author’s mouth piece in regards to Bakugou which has led to me having to headcanon heavily things to make it make sense.

As a concept- Aizawa is supposed to be the tough teacher who has a heart of gold. He is supposed to be Kakashi in MHA but Kakashi works in Naruto because they’re part of a military dictatorship where teaching kids is a duty of his he hates and purposely fails people. I’ve always held to the headcanon he passes Team 7 solely because of Naruto only for him to fail horribly because he isn’t a good teacher.

Aizawa is supposed to be the guy introducing reality to his students. Quirks don’t matter, creativity and skill does. Except he doesn’t show that. At all.

He favours Bakugou in many ways (only a scolding for the battle trials, defending him when he could have ended the fight with Uraraka fast, how he placed him with Izuku during the final exam, refusing to see the animosity in favour of seeing what he wants- list goes on) and is very hands off.

Now, as much of the teaching aspect of the show isn’t there as we are focusing on the fights I’ve always disliked when people say he just sleeps the entire time. We don’t actually know this. Maybe he is a very engaging teacher. He just sleeps when others are involved in the class as a whole. (iE: Midnight and her class on hero names)

Then again we don’t know. So it is up to interpretation in the end.

The aspect of favouring Shinsou also comes up. For me, I’m reminded of the fact homeroom teachers in Japan actually are supposed to be third parents. They don’t really teach and are more there to help with the day to day life of students.

That being said- I think him personally teaching Shinsou is a bit of what the fuck moment when we don’t see him devoting similar time to others, and I can understand the frustration towards both of them due to this. It’s why I develop the headcanons I have so I can explain this in my fics.

The fact I have to do this though is bad writing.

I’ll admit if I took it at face value Aizawa looks worse than he does. He is supposed to be the tough mentor with a heart of gold who is traumatized by the loss of his friend as a teenager.

What we get is an asshole who the few times he is involved in a lesson he’s asleep, he favours a guy we know torments the main character, personally trains another outside the class and seems more interested in casting Izuku as a trouble maker then not. Who routinely harms his former students by placing black marks on their records which severely harms their futures.

This is Horikoshi trying to make a Kakashi 2.0 without thinking of how it works in his world. It works in Naruto. It doesn’t in MHA.

This is bad writing.

You can have it Aizawa fakes the black mark. But he doesnt in canon, so thus he is harming kids he thinks just needed a scare in the long run.

For me I love his fanon version. The actual mentor with a heart of gold. I don’t always agree with how some people show this (IE: he is the only one who knows how to help Izuku, All Might bashing, the demonization of Inko despite my own thoughts on her and so on) but I do love the idea of what he could be.

For me, I am slowly exploring him more as a man with pride and deep flaws. He doesn’t read the files because he doesn’t want a bias, but forms them himself sadly. He believes in his own way he is one of the few people who knows how demanding heroics can be, and views people with more traditional Quirks as slackers. He then misses how someone like him (Shinsou) has also relied on his Quirk.

With Bakugou and the favouritism… honestly I see that as Horikoshi using him to much as a mouth piece to excuse why a teacher isn’t stepping in. Which makes him way OOC.

This is why again I have to headcanon stuff to make it fit what Aizawa is supposed to be.

This is still bad writing.

So to answer: Canon Aizawa sucks because of bad writing and trying to fit him into MHA when it doesn’t quite work. As a concept he is interesting more so when you explore him from the mindset of a man who is unaware of the harm he brings people because he’s so focused on his own bias.

Aizawa is biased, illogical and a man who is hurting.It would have been so much fun for canon to explore him in the manner of ‘this is a man set in his ways who realizes he is fucked up and keeps fucking up’ by having him forced to realize where he went wrong and address it. To have him become the mentor with a heart of gold who gains the hope he once lost back.

We don’t get that though because in the end MHA just reinforces the status quo. Sure some changes have happened but everything is back to normal.

And that’s sad.

[lcftyambiticns]

Everyone and their mom hates Lorroakan. I mean, I GET IT (though there are much worse characters in terms of morality, just saying adfdsdf).

BUT. I have a scientifically proven list of why he is kinda cool >:c *slams down my papers*

his hair. HIS HAIR.

In my opinion, his face model is one of the best. He is so very expressive, and his lil imperfections make him look like an actual person. His freckles and beauty marks?? Also, his eye color? I use a mod to have it in my character creator. <3

Yeah, I love how expressive he is overall, especially with all the gesturing. Adds so much to his character.

I think his backstory offers a lot of room for interpretation, and as someone who likes a bit of creative flexibility with canon characters, I really enjoy that. How was his life like in Athkatla? Why is he such a grandiose prick in the first place? It's mentioned multiple times he is a charlatan and he has 16 CHA - fairly high for a wizard -, so that's also interesting. I love dissecting characters like him. Check out my HCs, bish.

Lorroakan is a capable mage, but he is nowhere near as powerful as he likes to pretend. I feel like there is a lot of insecurity underneath it all (I mean, seriously, he can't even admit in death that Rolan is be more powerful than him?? DUh). Yet another interesting aspect worth exploring imo...

BUT HE STILL MADE IT?? He is Master of Ramazith's Tower, a business owner, he holds a lot of political sway according to Rolan, and he is a recognized name in Baldur's Gate and beyond (Rolan is from Elturel and has been "admiring him for years"). Despite many people knowing Lorroakan is a braggart and a charlatan, plenty still believe in his reputation! Fake it till you make it haha XD

He rarely leaves his tower (they call him "Recluse of Ramazith's Tower") and I'm having a lot of thoughts about that as well!!

Okay, that's it for now. I like talking about the mean wizard. :p

[azalawa-scroggs]

@fitia I'm going to take it to a real post because this is getting really long for tags and idk if I should keep clogging OP's notifs.

(TL;DR: this is about the question of taking the Japanese Gyakuten Saiban and the English Ace Attorney as two entirely different works vs. letting Gyakuten Saiban, by virtue of it being the original, influence or even override interpretation of the English version)

You make an excellent point too about accessibility. Not everyone can or wants to learn another language just to understand a piece of media and the great majority of the Western audience for Ace Attorney (me included) doesn't speak Japanese, and it's unfair to expect that of anyone. The game very much stands on its own, and the localisation does a pretty good work of separating the game enough from its original cultural context (as much as possible) for knowledge of said original context not to be necessary to understand it.

At the same time I also feel like they couldn't make it work perfectly, precisely because that's not how the work was conceived in the first place. Janet Hsu's "this is California if the Japanese community had been more implanted and less persecuted in the mid-20th century" setting is indeed a really clever way to do this, but ultimately this was not meant to be America, and so there will always be discrepancies between the real-world America and Ace Attorney's America that cannot be explained away by the setting, as alternate as it may be. Ace Attorney uses the same assets, the same plot beats, the same lines than Gyakuten Saiban, albeit culturally adapted and liberally translated. Ultimately, I do think Ace Attorney remains a translation more than an adaptation, even though I admit this is debatable as it certainly skirts the line between those two things. I think the difference is felt mostly in all the small things I outlined in my previous tags; Gregory and Phoenix working on Christmas, Europe somehow being both more advanced in working with juries and also having less worker protections as America, Germany and the German language for some reason seeming popular, snow in California, etc., all those things that are at the root of the "eat your hamburgers, Apollo" meme.

(Besides, I will argue that even the reading of an adaptation is enriched from looking at the material it is adapting. But I don't think anyone ever really argued the contrary anyway.)

There are also differences that have nothing to do with culture, but rather with the temporal context in which it was created, like technology being very different from what it "should" realistically be in the time setting the game it set in, between the archaic Nokia-brick-type phones Phoenix and Edgeworth tout and Kay's futuristic Little Thief, all of this in the mid-late 2010s.

So what I'm saying here is, I feel like there is room for creativity in one direction like in the other, and ultimately I don't think one approach is more "correct" than the other. I feel like it makes as much sense to read Ace Attorney on its own with only the text itself as basis for interpretation, as it does to prioritise the context of the original game to understand it, as it does to mixing and matching and doing everything in between. Personally, I like doing a little bit of both; to use (what Japanese speakers have to say about) the original work to understand better things that may seem strange to me about the localisation, or to enrich my understanding of the characters' behaviour, and better understand the very deliberate choices that the translation made without dismissing those as anything but choices that are very much a part of the work itself.

I understand the original post as being a reaction to certain "gotcha!" posts that seek to discredit the localisation by using the original, which I agree is in bad faith because the original and the localisation do exist as two different and separate objects. At the same time I think it's also a bit of a fallacy to truly consider the two objects entirely distinct, considering their very close link.